India take on the West Indies in their final Super 8 game today at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens. It’s a must-win game for either team as a victory here will take them to the semi-finals. Clearly, there is a lot at stake.
India will go into the contest as favourites, however, they have been far from convincing in the tournament so far. There are many loopholes in the Indian side which the Caribbean team can exploit very well. Then there are other factors too. Let’s see what all of them are.
West Indies are full of power-hitters and they also bat deep
We saw that from them against England and South Africa. Against England, they lost two wickets inside the first two overs. In fact, they kept losing them at regular intervals but they somehow still managed a match-winning 196, thanks to Sherfane Rutherford’s 76* off 42 balls. Against the Proteas in the Super 8s, they were reeling at 83/7 at one time but then again, Romario Shepherd and Jason Holder added 89 off 59 balls to take them to 176.
India’s bowling in the middle overs a big concern
Varun Chakaravarthy and Hardik Pandya have not been that convincing, often requiring India to use their sixth bowler largely in Shivam Dube who kind of has made things worse. Against South Africa, both Chakaravarthy and Pandya leaked a lot of runs and Dube was no help either. From 20/3, the Proteas went on to post a match-winning 187. Against Zimbabwe, Dube went from bad to worse, as he conceded 46 runs in just two overs.
Memories of the 2016 T20 World Cup
India were firm favourites to beat the West Indies in their semi-final match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. And when they made 192/2, it appeared it was totally their match to lose. However, Lendl Simmons played a blinder of 82 not out to steer the Caribbean team into the final, leaving Indian fans stunned.
Feel-good factor in Kolkata
Fans will remember it was at the iconic Eden Gardens where Carlos Braithwaite hit Ben Stokes for four successive sixes in the last over to help the Windies to their second T20 World Cup trophy in 2016. When they take the field later today, they will remember how the venue had been so lucky for them in the past.
Presence of Darren Sammy
Darren Sammy was the captain of the 2016 T20 World Cup-winning side. And he is here again in India with the Caribbean team as a head coach. Here is the man who has seen it all and done it all. And there is no reason why he can’t make them win again through his pearls of wisdom and experience.
